Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) won the gold medal in the men’s road race at the Paris Olympic Games but Ireland’s Ben Healy deserved the unofficial ‘most aggressive rider’ prize for his daring, all-out attack with 95km to go.
Healy is a breakaway expert. In his aero helmet and skin suit to benefit from every possible gain, he got away with Alexey Lutsenko of Kazakhstan, and they powered across to the early break. Then Healy kept on going and went clear alone.
Evenepoel and France’s Valentin Madouas eventually joined him and dropped him over the top of the Montmartre climb, ending Healy’s hopes of a medal. He dug deep to finish in the group of nine riders who fought for the bronze medal, but had little left.
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He finished a proud 10th, 1:20 down on Evenepoel.
“I played my cards the best way I know how,” Healy said in the media mixed zone after the race.
“Maybe if I’d had a tiny bit more in the tank today then I could have been in the shout for a medal but I'm super proud of that performance. A top 10 is a result.
“I think I put myself in the best place and did what I know suits me best. There were just stronger guys today, unfortunately.”
Race radios are not allowed in the Olympic road race and so Healy was racing almost blind. He didn’t care too much and just pressed on.
“It was kind of strange racing in the dark like that. It creates a few more question marks during the race but you just have to race with that in mind and be super proactive,” he explained.
“When I attacked and Ryan was ahead, I was just praying that he got a message.
“When I was away, I got a time gap every now and again, but I didn't really know who was behind or what the gaps were. I just had to do my own race and do what I thought was right at the time.”
Ireland only had two riders in the 90-rider field but played their card as best they could. Ryan Mullen joined a counter-attack that reached the front of the race with 120km to go. When Healy came across, Ryan gave his all to help the move stay clear.
“We definitely discussed it, but you know, it doesn't always work out that way,” Healy explained.
“We didn't just want him to be sat out front for 200 kilometres before that. When the opportunity came and he was able to get in a group pretty easily, and so it was a no-brainer. He did a big day out front and really helped me.”
Healy has already raced for 52 days in 2024 and after riding aggressively at the Tour de France, he is ready for a break.
“I haven't really thought about my next goals too much, for sure, I'm not going to ride the Vuelta,” he said. “I'd like to try to do a good World Championships, but first some rest.”
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